nope. it's the NHL for me. it's the best and everything else is 2nd rate. i like to play hockey and watch NHL hockey.
- Fountain-San

But when you play hockey do you play at an NHL level?

To Jamal Mayers and the other NHL players beating the dead horse ad nauseum:

1.) Yes, we get it. It doesn't sound fair, but the last CBA, which everyone thought you got crushed on, turned out great for you and your fellow NHL players. You made more money than ever.

2.) Stop with the incessant Tweeting about it. You're all starting to sound like a bunch of rich whiners, and the name-calling is both childish and pathetic.

3.) If the options are A) 50% of $3 billion or B) 57% of $0 but with your pride fully in tact, you seem to be choosing option B. Then that was your choice, live with it.

Maybe the owners should have a little chit-chat with their GMs and ask them why they hand out insane contracts.

The owners' wounds are self-inflicted.
- Scoob

These are some of the main issue the NHL owners are fighting for. They have come to realize that they have been forced into handing out these big contracts for a number of reasons. Mostly because their star players hold them hostage at UFA time. Hence whey they are trying to lengthen the terms before RFA and UFA status kicks in for Rookies, lower the length of contracts and place a realistic cap on player salaries.

If I was the owner of Nashville Pred and Ryan Suter just signed a ridiculous contract with a team that is no better financed than mine, and my other star player just signed and offer sheet for another assinine contract, what are your choices. Loose both your stars, and watch attendance drop, or sign Weber and take the risk. The owners are really being forced into these contacts or they can watch all their star players move to one of the 8 teams making any money.

These are some of the main issue the NHL owners are fighting for. They have come to realize that they have been forced into handing out these big contracts for a number of reasons. Mostly because their star players hold them hostage at UFA time. Hence whey they are trying to lengthen the terms before RFA and UFA status kicks in for Rookies, lower the length of contracts and place a realistic cap on player salaries.

If I was the owner of Nashville Pred and Ryan Suter just signed a ridiculous contract with a team that is no better financed than mine, and my other star player just signed and offer sheet for another assinine contract, what are your choices. Loose both your stars, and watch attendance drop, or sign Weber and take the risk. The owners are really being forced into these contacts or they can watch all their star players move to one of the 8 teams making any money.
- moondawg

AMEN!

mayers can suck it.

I am angry but honest. I sit here and read every damn Twitter thread and every BS post about "almost there". I sit here and say "I am done with this league" yet all I can do when I get home is watch highlights of Peter Forsberg's career or a recap of the Flyers come back vs the Bruins.

I hate the NHL , I hate the owners, I hate the players but I love my team and the history of this sport.

I can't imagine me ever again spending money on merchandise. I will never again defend this league to anyone. I would not be horribly sad if sponsors pull out and and fans don't show up so the players and owners can get there 50/50 split of something minimal. They need to realize that the first strike where we had a 40 game season was horrible. They beat that with a cancelled season and are on the cusp of doing the same thing again. At some point they lose the buffer with me they have created by all the past events on the ice.

I say and believe all of the above and I know that when the first puck drops next season I will be right there watching. The exception will be if no agreement is signed prior to training camp next year. Cancelling 2 seasons adds to the perception of the NHL being a joke. Going into next season still in a lockout would be the final straw for me.

I read players complaining about a reduction in salary. Welcome to the modern world I have friends in Corporate America that took a 30% pay cut to keep their job. I have friends that have not received a raise in 3-4 years. I find it insulting when someone making 800k a year says " the nerve of the owners want me to take a paycut so I will only be making 700k a year" .. I find the owners just as horrible where making multiple millions is not enough.

So here I sit..Angry ..Frustrated..Annoyed and with my finger hovering over the remote for whatever station the Flyers first game will be on.

mayers can suck it.
- Barx

He's been suckin' it for a while now!

To Jamal Mayers and the other NHL players beating the dead horse ad nauseum:

1.) Yes, we get it. It doesn't sound fair, but the last CBA, which everyone thought you got crushed on, turned out great for you and your fellow NHL players. You made more money than ever.

2.) Stop with the incessant Tweeting about it. You're all starting to sound like a bunch of rich whiners, and the name-calling is both childish and pathetic.

3.) If the options are A) 50% of $3 billion or B) 57% of $0 but with your pride fully in tact, you seem to be choosing option B. Then that was your choice, live with it.
- MartiniMan

exactly. the longer they fight, the less they will get.
this is so ridiculously simple, it's embarrassing that the rest of the sports world just laughs at this idiocy.

These are some of the main issue the NHL owners are fighting for. They have come to realize that they have been forced into handing out these big contracts for a number of reasons. Mostly because their star players hold them hostage at UFA time. Hence whey they are trying to lengthen the terms before RFA and UFA status kicks in for Rookies, lower the length of contracts and place a realistic cap on player salaries.

If I was the owner of Nashville Pred and Ryan Suter just signed a ridiculous contract with a team that is no better financed than mine, and my other star player just signed and offer sheet for another assinine contract, what are your choices. Loose both your stars, and watch attendance drop, or sign Weber and take the risk. The owners are really being forced into these contacts or they can watch all their star players move to one of the 8 teams making any money.
- moondawg

And there's absolutely no way to get anything in return for your stars???? you mean, Nashville couldn't trade Suter and get something (big) in return for him when he was still under contract? They couldn't do the same with Weber??


When players really want to stay, theyre usually oppen to signing extensions before they are even eligible to receive offer sheets/sign elsewhere


If I'm GM and my player (who I want to retain) refuses to sign an extension before free agency period begins, I trade his ass and maximize my investment


Sorry if NHL owners and GM's haven't figured out this very simple business practice, buy low, sell high

who has a better chance of catching a bullet.

bettman
obama
fuhr
macguire

there ya go ek i saved you the trouble for your next pole.
- big_dion

Grant Fuhr shouldn't be on that list.

x2

And there's absolutely no way to get anything in return for your stars???? you mean, Nashville couldn't trade Suter and get something (big) in return for him when he was still under contract? They couldn't do the same with Weber??


When players really want to stay, they usually sign extensions before they are even eligible to receive offer sheets/sign elsewhere


If I'm GM and my player (who I want to retain) refuses to sign an extension before free agency period begins, I trade his ass and maximize my investment


Sorry if NHL owners and GM's haven't figured out this very simple business practice, buy low, sell high
- conor_smythe

OK, go ahead and do that, you will always be a team full of propects and draft picks.

Last time I cheked you need some developed stars to sell tickest and compete in this league, hence why they are trying to retain those stars for a little longer.

And there's absolutely no way to get anything in return for your stars???? you mean, Nashville couldn't trade Suter and get something (big) in return for him when he was still under contract? They couldn't do the same with Weber??


When players really want to stay, theyre usually oppen to signing extensions before they are even eligible to receive offer sheets/sign elsewhere


If I'm GM and my player (who I want to retain) refuses to sign an extension before free agency period begins, I trade his ass and maximize my investment


Sorry if NHL owners and GM's haven't figured out this very simple business practice, buy low, sell high
- conor_smythe

Care to add anything about No Trade Clauses or No Movements Clauses to your statement? Or something about fair market value, if there is a market at all?

I am so sick and tired of hearing about this whole thing. I am a HUGE hockey fan, and at this point I really don't care if hockey comes back. I'm happy with watching the junior and AHL games.
- sdube_13

Ditto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so sick and tired of hearing about this whole thing. I am a HUGE hockey fan, and at this point I really don't care if hockey comes back. I'm happy with watching the junior and AHL games.
- sdube_13

Ditto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grant Fuhr shouldn't be on that list.
- Leafsfan9329

u guys know what im talking about!

Well then how about the players all just cut their salaries in half so that the great owners of Phoenix, Florida, etc can make a profit. And then do it again in 7 years. And so on, and so on, and so on. Give me a break.
- stuckey

Can we expand the time frame a little?

2004-05: individual team cap of $39 million.

2011-12: individual team cap of $64 million.

Healthy rise, no?

And then the owners are asking that it dip back down:

2012-13: individual team cap of $59.9 million.

Is that really such a bad deal?

All this whining about how the players/owners make so much more than you needs to stop. If you hate capitalism so much why the hell are you living in North America? These guys worked their asses off to be where they are and if they want to ruin it all by arguing with each other who gives a (frank)? Maybe they'll lose it all and start crying about poverty with you guys.

As for me, I've moved on to watching other hockey leagues. It's not the same but it's better than sitting around crying about this season all the time

Hey, I went to MSG last Saturday night and watched Cornell vs. Michigan. Great hockey and the fans weren't critics. They were there to root for their team and enjoy the game. That being said I would like some pro hockey when football is over. I realize that in some US cities it has ended already, just like in Canada.

To Jamal Mayers, Paul Bissonnette, Eric Cole, Sidney Crosby and any of the other spoiled brats that have diarrhea of the mouth:

Try supporting a family of five on $52,000/year.

Try waking up a 5AM, Tuesday-Saturday to drive 30 minutes each way to stand on a trucking dock in either the freezing cold or sweltering hot, with no escape from those elements in my 10 hour shift save for the 30 minute lunch break I have each day.

Try being able to afford only 1 vehicle: a 1996 Nissan Pathfinder that has 140,000 miles on it, that I just had to sink another $500 into just so I could have heat in my vehicle this winter.

Try swallowing your pride as you stand in line for 3 hours because your family falls under the state guidelines for heat and electrical assistance.

Try taking a 15% pay cut (three years ago), and not seeing a dime of that back yet. And I probably never will.

Try imagining how the hell to even think about paying for your 18 year-old's college tuition...only to have 2 more of your boys following closely behind, and wondering how to pay for TWO more college tuitions, SO YOUR BOYS DON'T HAVE TO DO WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Try to buy Christmas presents for those kids, while wondering what bill(s) you may have to put off until next month.

And, try feeling like a real man, when you have to look your wife in the eye Christmas morning when handing her a couple pair of socks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



None of you have ever, EVER known what it's like to live in the real world, and none of you ever will. I would give my left nut to be able to do what you guys do for a living. And I would never take it for granted, knowing what I know now.

Perhaps some of you guys need a dose of reality.

You will NEVER have any of my sympathy, so save your breath.

Can we expand the time frame a little?

2004-05: individual team cap of $39 million.

2011-12: individual team cap of $64 million.

Healthy rise, no?

And then the owners are asking that it dip back down:

2012-13: individual team cap of $59.9 million.

Is that really such a bad deal?
- Atomic Wedgie

Fehr and the NHLPA idiots fail to recognize that four steps forward and one step back is progress.

Hasn't the league already said that those contracts will be honored in more form or another?
- As_I_See_It

Not to my knowledge they haven't.

OK, go ahead and do that, you will always be a team full of propects and draft picks.

Last time I cheked you need some developed stars to sell tickest and compete in this league, hence why they are trying to retain those stars for a little longer.
- moondawg

how would trading 2 players make my teams "full of prospects".. I'll still have 21 (developed) other players who may not be "stars" but still welcome on any team in the league

and as for "over priced developed stars = competing in the league"

take a look at the chicago blackhawks stanley cup roster/payroll


Better yet, take a look at the ST.louis Blues current payroll and Standings last season.. you don't need overpaid superstars to compete

Just like the NHL players - you can go work somewhere else if you dont like what your boss/company is doing. The other thing is that your analogy is nowhere near the reality of the situation. In truth, my company tells me that I need to be more profitable every year - sell more and be more efficent, but I may only get a 3% raise. 50% of $4B is better than 57% of $3.3B - so the players in fact CAN make more money - unlike the scenario you painted.
- atlsabsfan

Missed the general point. Yes the players could make more than they have in the past but it would be less than their current deal. Either way its worse for them at the end of the day.

I'll paint a different picture. Say your in sales and you make 5% commision. You have an amazing year make the company tons of money. They don't like how much ur commision check is so say next deal we only gonna give you 4% commission. You honestly going to be like that's cool I'll sell more and can make even more than last year. That may be what u do, but admit it you wouldn't be happy about it. And if it happened repeatedly you would try some form of protest.

Why should the playerrs be any different?

Yes the players can play elsewhere, close to 200 already have. But that point is not as valid when ur discussing up rooting families thousands of miles. So ur example of working elsewhere isn't really comparable either with averaage joe commuting extra 30 min lol

Care to add anything about No Trade Clauses or No Movements Clauses to your statement? Or something about fair market value, if there is a market at all?
- As_I_See_It

I'll add that GM's and Team Owner's agree to those clauses when negotiating with players.